Bruce Fanjoy will head to the House of Commons for the first time after unseating Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, a stunning result for the longtime incumbent.
Few ridings were as closely watched on election night as the count stretched into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
While the result has made national headlines, Fanjoy says that he wasn’t surprised by the outcome.
“We ran a very positive campaign here in Carleton and I think that the people in Carleton were ready for change,” he told CTV’s Katelyn Wilson.
“I felt from the beginning, and I’ve been at this for over two years, and I felt from the beginning that it was winnable. We just got to work.”
Fanjoy, a father of two who resides in the community of Manotick, has worked in various roles in the private sector and has held several positions in local community organizations, according to his biography.
The Carleton riding encompasses rural and some suburban areas in the city of Ottawa, surrounding the southern and western parts of the city. The Liberals took every seat the city on election night.
Poilievre has represented Carleton for seven straight terms after he was first elected in the riding then called Nepean-Carleton. He got 52 per cent of the vote in 2021.
Fanjoy credited the win to the hard work of volunteers, who he said knocked on thousands of doors, including over 15,000 before the campaign started.
“We worked hard, had an incredible volunteer team who worked their butts off for a very long time and I’m just filled with gratitude to them for the trust they put in me,” he said.
“It was a big hill to climb there’s no question, but I felt we could do it and as the process continued more and more, people believed we could it as well.”
Fanjoy got 50.8 per cent or 43,900 votes on election night – a lead of 4,315 votes over Poilievre.
The turnout was 81.6 per cent on election night, the highest of the Ottawa-area ridings, according to preliminary results. Carleton also had the highest advance voting turnout in the country, with nearly 44,000 people choosing to cast their ballots early.
While knocking on doors, Fanjoy said Donald Trump and his threats of annexation against Canada were a top issue.
“As they are across Canada, we’re looking for serious leadership that can stand up to the United States administration, defend Canadian industries, defend Canadian workers and families and get Canada through this storm – and we will,” he said.
He says he wants to make working with residents directly a priority when he is sworn in as a Member of Parliament.
“I’m going to work very hard for every resident of Carleton and they’re going to see that. I’ve been putting in the work for two years. I want to make sure that everyone feels represented, that means being present, meeting them where they are, listening and advocating for them in Parliament,” he said.
“I think people will find they will enjoy having an MP that will enjoy working on their behalf.”
Mark Carney’s Liberals held on to power Monday night, winning enough seats in the 45th federal election to form a minority government. Carney won his seat in the neighbouring riding of Nepean.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Katelyn Wilson
